Secondary leg-rest actuating means



J n 1964 P. s. FLETCHER ETAL 3,135,543

SECONDARY LEG-REST ACTUATING MEANS Filed NOV. 10, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet lJNVENTOR. FIG P5722 5. FLETCHEIQ/ June 2, 1964 P. s. FLETCHER ETAL3,135,543

SECONDARY LEG-REST ACTUATING MEANS Filed Nov. 10, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 2f INV EN TOR.

FIG. 5. 257.52 a. HERA 2.

y WAY/V5 M: CULT) Jun 96 P. s. FLETCHER ETAL 3,135,548

SECONDARY LEG-REST ACTUATING MEANS Filed Nov. 10, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 3FIG.7.

INVENTOR. PET R 5'. FZE CHE Q.

l9 TTOENEY! June 2. 1 64 P. s. FLETCHER ETAL 3,135,548

SECONDARY LEG-REST ACTUATING MEANS Filed Nov. 10, 1961 4 SheetsSheet 4FIG. 8.

FIG. 9.

INV EN TOR.

PETER 6. FLE7CA/ER y MY/VE' MQC'ULT) United StatCS a mo 3,135,548SECONDARY LEG-REST ACTUATING MEANS Beach, Fla, assignors to AntonLorenz, Boynton Beach, Fla.

Filed Nov. 10, 1961, Ser. No. 151,575

11 Claims. (Cl. 297-89) The presentinvention'relates generally toreclining chairs and specifically to linkages used for mounting theleg-rests of reclining chairs for movement between an Peter S. Fletcherand Wayne A. McCulty, both of Delray extended leg-supporting positionand a collapsed posithin mounting linkage tor a leg-rest for use with athinline reclining chair. It is generally recognized that one of thebest mounting means for a leg-rest in a reclining chair consists of theuse of a lazy tong type of linkage connected at one end to the leg-restand mounted at its other end upon the seat of the body-supporting unitof the reclining chair. The means for driving the leg-rest mountinglinkage and thereby the leg-rest between its collapsed position and itsextended leg-supporting position advantageously em ploys the relativemotion between the seat of the bodysupporting unit and the structureupon which the seat is mounted for movement.

Such constructions have been recently applied to reclining chairs of thethin-line type. In this type of chair, a relatively clean and opendesign is employed wherein the chair arms are unupholstered and theframe of the chair is spaced well above the floor level. In such chairsit is an essential requirement that the linkage employed to mount theleg-rest for motion from its stored to its extended position be of arelatively small dimension in a vertical direction when in its collapsedposition such that the linkage may be hidden'within the framework of thechair.

Theoretically, a lazy tong linkage is capable of being collapsed, byactuation means at one endof the lazy tong, such that the various linksare completely collapsed one against the other. In practice, however,extremely slight differences in the eifective lengths of the individuallinks often produce a sagging effect. In a reclining chair, this may bemanifested as follows: where a leg-rest platform is mounted at the endof a lazy tong linkage which, in turn, is secured to the seat of thereclining chair, the weight'of the'leg-rest platform and of therespective links of. the lazy tong linkage are sufficient to force theleg-rest platform to hang at a level lower than that desired or expectedas a result of calculations based upon the theoretical lengths of thevarious links. The variances from the theoretical lengths of the linksmay be caused by a number of factors. Among these aremanufacturingtolerances, slight misplacement of the pivot holes in thevarious links, original clearance plus wear between pivot pins and thepivot holes in the links which allow the pivots to act as short slots,errors inthe placement of the lazy tong linkage to the seat or supportof the reclining chair and similar misplacement of'the locating pointsof the leg-rest platform on the end of the lazy tong linkage.

It will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art thatrelatively small cumulative errors within the total lazy tong linkagemay, and often do, result in relatively large errors in the position ofthe leg-rest. Since :it is desirable that the leg-rest be tucked astightly as possible under the seat in a thin-line reclining chair, it isdesirable to rovide mountin means for such a leg-rest.

Patented June 2, 1964 which occupies a minimum space and which, bypositive action, may be completely collapsed when the chair is in itsupright sitting position.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide meanswithin a reclining chair for providing a small size leg-rest mountinglinkage. Specifically, it is an object of the present invention toprovide means whereby a leg-rest mounting linkage may be positivelycollapsed such that it occupies a minimal amount of space in a verticaldimension when the leg-rest is in its collapsed, inactive position.

In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present inventionthere is provided a reclining chair which includes a body-supportingunit movable between a reclined position and an upright sittingposition. The reclining chair further includes a leg-rest and a lazytong linkage mounting the leg-rest for movement between an extendedleg-supporting position and an inactive collapsed position wherein thelazy tong linkage and the leg-rest are collapsed beneath thebody-supporting unit. Actuating means are provided for the leg-restlinkage to actuate same in response to movement of the bodysupportingunit. In this environment there is provided secondary actuating meansoperable at the end of the movement of the body-supporting unit from itsreclined to its upright sitting position which is eilective' to positionand a second or follower member positioned to be contacted by the firstmember at the completion of said motion. The second member is connected,directly or indirectly to the lazy tong linkage and is operable, whenengaged by the first member, to positively force the lazy tong linkageinto a closely collapsed configuration.

The above brief description, as well as further objects,

features and advantages of the present invention, will best beappreciated by reference to the following detailed description whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIG. 1 isa side elevational view of a reclining chair incorporating constructionsaccording to the present invention shown in its upright sitting positionwith portions broken away for the sake of clarity;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view. similar to FIG. 1 illustrating the chairin its intermediate tilted position;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view similar to FIG. 1 illustrating the chairin its fully reclined position;

RIG. 3A is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the linkage usedin the chair;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged and diagrammatical View of a portion oftheleg-rest mounting linkage of the chair of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatical view of aleg-rest mounting linkage generallyof the type shown in FIGS. 1 through 4 illustrating the possibility oflarge order errors in the placement of the leg-rest platform as a resultof relatively small differences in the actual length of linkage membersfrom their theoretical values;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of a reclining chair similar to thatshown in FIG. 1 incorporating a second FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG.8 illustrating the chair in its intermediate tilted position.

In FIGS. 1 through a thin-line reclining chair is illustrated which isgenerally designated by the numeral 10. The chair 10 includes abody-supporting unit 12 which in turn includes the rigid seat 14 andback-rest 16 which are mounted within the frame 18 for movement from theupright sitting position of FIG. 1 to the intermediate position of FIG.2 and then to the fully reclined position of FIG. 3. The conventionalthin-line frame 18 includes the legs 20, the top arms 22, the side rails24 and the structural cross members 26.

The body-supporting unit 12 is mounted on a rear guide link 28 bypivotal connection 30 at the rearward portion of the seat. The guidelink 28 is secured to the frame 18 at the pivot 32 which is mounted onthe side member 24. A front guide link 34, pivotally connected to thefront of the seat 14 at the pivot 36, is pivotally connected at 38 tothe carrier member 40. The carrier member 40 in turn is secured at itsrearward end to the mounting pivot 42 on the frame 18 and normally restsupon the front structural cross member 26 when the chair is in itsupright sitting position and in its intermediate tilted position. Theupright sitting position of the body-supporting unit 12 is determined inthis illustrative embodiment by the stop pin 43 on the carrier member 40which contacts a notch 43a on an extension of the front guide link 34.The notch 43a is constructed according to standard practice and providesan accurately located stop surface on the link 74.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the bodysupporting unit12 is guided for movement from its upright sitting position asillustrated in FIG. 1 to its intermediate tilted position illustrated inFIG. 2 by the pivotal movement of the rear guide link 28 about the pivot32 and the front guide link 34 about the pivot 38. This movement iseffective to move the body-supporting unit rearwardly and to tilt thefront slightly upwardly.

The motion of the body-supporting unit, as guided by the front and rearguide links 34, 28, is halted at the completion of this first movementphase by a stud projecting from the pivot 42 (see FIG. 2). Thesequencing mechanism 44 which is secured between the rear guide link 28and the carrier member 40 is effective to insure the correct sequence ofthe two phases of motion of the chair. The sequencing mechanismcomprises a generally triangular shape plate 46 having a two-directionalslot 48 formed therein. The plate 46 is pivoted at 50 to the carriermember 40 and is further pivoted at 52 to a connecting link 54 which inturn is pivoted to the rear guide link 28 at pivot 56. A fixed pin orstud 58 is mounted on the frame 18 on the side member 24 and is receivedwithin the twodirectional slot 48 of the plate 46. As thebody-supporting unit 12 is moved through its first movement phase, theconnecting link 54 is effective to pivot the plate 46 in a clockwisedirection about the pivot 50. Relative movement is thus effected betweenthe fixed pin 58 and the slot 48 and movement through the first movementphase is halted when the fixed pin 48 reaches the central branchingpoint of the two-directional slot 48. It will be appreciated, of course,that the first portion of the slot 48 describes an are about tthe pivot50. The second portion of the slot is also arcuate and is defined by themovement of the plate 46 during the second movement phase.

Movement of the body-supporting unit 12 from the intermediate positionof FIG. 2 to the fully reclined position of FIG. 3 through the secondmovement phase may be seen by progressively viewing FIGS. 2 and 3. Whenplate 46 moves sufiiciently such that the pin 58 is positioned at themiddle of the slot 48 (see FIG. 2), the rearward motion of thebody-supporting unit 12 with respect to the stationary frame 18 issubstantially blocked. The rearward motion of the body-supporting unitmay be blocked by any other suitable means. For example, the pivot 42may be in the form of a standard headless pin having a projecting bodypositioned to engage link 28 in the position of the chair as shown inFIG. 2. At that point, further rearward shifting of the chair occupantsweight is effective to pivot the body-supporting unit 12 about the point30, the mounting point for the body-supporting unit 12 on the rear guidelink 28. This movement constitutes the second movement phase and ishalted by the abutment of the fixed pin 58 against the lowermost end ofthe slot 48 within the plate 46. It will be appreciated that the forwardportion of the carrier member 40 is tilted upwardly thus allowing thefront guide link 34 to rise such that the body-supporting unit 12 ismoved into its fully reclined position.

In this environment, there is provided a movable legrest 60 which ismounted on a leg-rest linkage, generally designated by numeral 62. Theleg-rest linkage 62 is of the lazy tong type and includes a first pairof links 64, 66 pivotally interconnected at 68. Link 64 is pivoted at 70to the forward end of the seat 14 and link 66 is pivoted to a point onthe leg-rest 60 at 72. A second pair of pivotally interconnected linksincludes link 74, which is an integral extension of the front guide link34, and link 76 connected to link 74 at pivot point 78. The link 74 ispivotally connected to the carrier member 40 at 38, it being an integralpart of link 34, and link 76 is pivotally connected to the leg-rest 60at pivot point 80 spaced from pivot point 72. The two pairs of links arethemselves pivotally interconnected at point 82 which is intermediatethe ends of the links 64 and 76. It will be appreciated that as the seat14 is moved through the first movement phase upwardly and rearwardly,,the front guide link 34 effectively moves its integral extension 74through a clockwise rotation about the pivot point 38 on the carriermember 40. Alternatively, this movement may be considered as a movementof the whole link 3474 which is driven through a clockwise rotationabout the pivot 36 on the seat 14 by means of the relative motionbetween the seat 14 and the carrier member 40. From either viewpoint,the rotation of the link 74 is effective to actuate the legrest mountinglinkage 62 to move same from the collapsed position illustrated in FIG.1 to the extended position illustrated in FIG. 2. Of course, there issubstantially no further relative motion between the leg-rest 60 and thebodysupporting unit 12 as the body-supporting unit is moved from itsintermediate tilted position to its fully reclined position. When thechair is moved from the intermediate position to the upright sittingposition, the relative motion between the seat 14 and the carrier member40 is effective to actuate the leg-rest mounting linkage 62 such that itis moved from its extended position of FIG. 2 to the collapsed positionof FIG. 1, thus folding the leg-rest 60 beneath the seat 14.

Reference will now be made to the diagrammatical view of FIG. 5 for adescription of the problem solved by the present invention. The variouslink members in FIG. 5 correspond to those described in connection withthe chair of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. The dark line configuration of theleg-rest linkage 62 is that which is desired in order to produce aminimum dimension from the bottom of the legrest 60 to the bottom of theseat 14 when the leg-rest linkage 62 is in its collapsed position and isthat expected by a theoretical consideration of the linkage. However,only the slightest variation in dimensional fidelity need be present inorder to produce the situation illustrated by the dotted lineconfiguration of the linkage 62. Specifically, it will be seen in FIG. 5that there is a near in-line relationship between the link 76 and thelink 64, as defined by the relationship of the pivots 80, 82 and 70,when the linkage 62 is in its collapsed position. The pivot point 82interconnecting those links may move downwardly thus placing the linkagein the position illustrated by the dotted lines in FIG. 5. This downwardmovement may be caused by the simple shifting of the various links abouttheir interconnecting pivot pins such that the pivots may, for smallorder changes, act as short slots rather than theoretical pivot points.It will be appreciated that only a 86, engageable with the first member.

very slight change in the effective length of the link 76 or link 64 isnecessary to produce the downward movement of the pivot point 82 asillustrated in FIG. 5. It will be further appreciated that a relativelysmall downward movement of the pivot point 82 will be amplified to alarger downward movement of pivot 68 and a still larger downwardmovement of the lower portion of the legrest 62.

Accordingly, the reclining chair 16 according to the present inventionprovides secondary actuating means effective to completely close theleg-rest mounting linkage 62 in response to the final movement of thebody-supporting unit 12 from the intermediate titlted position to theupright sitting position. The secondary actuating means in the chair 10includes a first member, herein designated by the numeral 84, which ismovable in response to the final movement of the body-supporting unitfrom the intermediate tilted position'to the upright sitting positionand a second member, herein designated by the numeral The first member84 forms an integral extension of the link 64 and forms a U-shapedstructure with the link 64 with the bight of the U-shaped structurepivoted about the pivot 70. It will be appreciated that a force directedupwardly on the first member 84 in the position shown in FIG. 1, willexert a force tending to close the leg-rest linkage 62. The secondmember comprises a pin 86 conveniently positioned on the carrier member46, although it will be appreciated that the second member 86 may bepositioned on any structure which is fixed relative to the motion of thefirst member 86 as the body-supporting unit 12 is moved into the uprightsitting position. The pin or second member 86 is a headless pin as shownin FIG. 3A and includes a body 86:: adapted to contact the first member84, a shank 86b, and a head 860 which is upset to secure the pin 86 tothe carrier member 40. The interengagement of the first member 84 andthe second member 86 is illustrated in detail in FIG. 4 wherein themember 64-84 is illustrated in full line configuration in the-collapsedposition of the leg-rest mounting linkage62 and in phantom in itsposition at the intermediate tilted position'of the reclining chair andat a further position spaced between those two limits. It will beappreciated from viewing FIG. 4 that the second member or holding member86 is stationary with respect to movement of the engaging member 84. Asthe rigid body 6484 is pivoted about the point 70, the engagementsurface 84a on the engaging member 84 moves about the second member 86and, as the seat 14 is lowered with respect to the carrier member 41),contact is made between the second member 86 and the first member 84.The second member 86 exerts an upward force upon the first member 84which imparts a counterclockwise thrust to the link 64 about the pivot70. Such a counterclockwise thrust to the link 64 about the pivot 70 is,of course, effective to raise the pivotal interconnection 82 of the twocrossed links of the leg-rest linkage and thereby raise the leg-rest 60from the dotted position illustrated in FIG. 5 to the dark line positionillustrated therein.

In order to facilitate a fuller understanding of the secondary actuatingmeans provided, the sequence of operations as the seat 14 is moved fromthe intermediate tilted position of FIG. 2 to the upright sittingposition of FIG. 1 Will be described. As the seat 14 moves forwardly anddownwardly as guided by the rear guide link 28 and the front guide link34, the pivot point 78 is similarly moved forwardly and downwardly. Asthe same time, the extension 74 of the front guide link 34 is moved in acounterclockwise rotation thus providing the conventional actuation ofthe lazy tong linkage 62 which is effective to draw the leg-rest 68downwardly and inwardly to pull same, with the linkage 62, below theseat 14. As the leg-rest linkage 62 collapses, the linkage unit 64, 84turns through a counterclockwise rotation such that the engaging surface84a of the first member 84 faces downwardly toward the second member orpin 86. As the seat 14 is lowered, the engaging surface 84a of the firstmember 84 contacts the pin 86 thus giving a further or secondarycounterclockwise impetus to the link 64. This is effective to raise thepivot point 82 and thereby to raise the other various links and pivotpoints of the leg-rest mounting linkage 62 and thereby to firmly tuckthe leg-rest platform 60 tightly beneath the seat 14.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7 there is shown a reclining chairdesignated by the numeral which incorporates a second embodimentaccording to the present invention. The various components of the chair110 are, in many instances, identical with those described in connectionwith chair 10 of FIGS. 1 through 4. Therefore, those elements will beindicated by similar numbers in the 100 rather than 10 series anddescription thereof will not be repeated.

The leg-rest mounting linkage 162 of the chair 114 is similar to that ofchair 18 described above and includes a pair of first pivotallyinterconnected links 164, 166 interconnected at 168. This first pair oflinks is connected at 172 to the leg-rest 160 and, by an extension 186,to a pivot point 187 at the forward end of a carrier mem ber 148. Asecond pair of links 174, 176 are interconnected at 178 and areconnected at one end to the legrest 16il-at 186 and at the other end tothe carrier member 148 at 138, link 174 being an integral extension ofthe front guide link 134. It will thus be appreciated that the lazy tonglinkage 162 mounts the leg-rest 168 on the carrier member for swingingmotion with respect thereto. The front guide link 134 acts as anactuating mechanism to raise and lower the leg-rest 168 in response torelative movement between the seat 114 and the carrier member 149 duringthe first movement phase The secondary actuating means in the recliningchair 116 comprise a pin 18% on the forward end of the seat 114 as thefirst member and an extension 190 of the link 164- as the second member.

The leg-rest linkage 162 is actuated through the forward guide link 134to raise the leg-rest in response to movement during the first movementphase of the chair 110. When the seat 114 is again lowered to itsposition as shown in FIG. 6, the front guide link 134 drives itsintegral extension 174 through a counterclockwise motion about the point138 thus collapsing the lazy tong linkage 162 beneath the seat as shownin FIG. 6. At the completion of this movement, the pin 188, movingdownwardly, contacts the engaging surfaces a of the second member 190 toforce the link 164 into a further counterclockwise rotation about itspivot point 187 on the carrier member 146. This counterclockwiserotation is effective to lift the pivot point 168 at the further end ofthe link 164 as well as the central pivot 182 through an upward movementthereby to positively assure that the lazy tong linkage 162 assumes acompletely collapsed position beneath the seat 114. Conversely, when theseat 114 is raised, the pin 188 elevates and allow the extension 190 ofthe link arm 164 to pivot in a clockwise direction, unobstructed, aboutthe pivot 187.

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 8 and 9 for a still furtherembodiment of the present invention within the reclining chair 219. Thereclining chair 218 similarly incorporates elements which, in manyinstances, are identical to those found in chair 11) illustrated inFIGS. 1, 2 and 3. Those identical elements are indicated by similarnumerals in the 200 series and, for the sake of brevity, will not bedescribed.

The leg-rest mounting linkage 262 for reclining chair 210 is virtuallyidentical to that illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 3 and diagrammaticallyshown in FIG. 5. It comprises the first pair of links 264, 266 which arepivotally interconnected at 268. The link 264 is pivoted to the seat 214 at 270 and the link 266 is pivoted to a point 272 on the leg-rest266. A second pair of interconnected links 274, 276 are pivotallyinterconnected at 278. Link 274 is an integral extension of the frontguide link 234, and therefore, is pivoted to the carrier member 240 atpoint 238. The link 276 is pivoted at its forward end to the leg-rest260 at point 280. The first and second pair of links are pivotallyinterconnected at 282 intermediate the ends of links 264 and 276respectively. The leg-rest 260 is actuated, as described above inconnection with chair 10, by the relative motion between the seat 214and the carrier member 240 through the rotation of the first guide link234 which rotates its integral extension, link 274, of the leg-restlinkage 262. Forward and downward movement of the seat 214, from theintermediate tilted position illustrated in FIG. 9 to the uprightsitting position illustrated in FIG. 8, is effective to rotate the link274 in a counterclockwise direction about the pivot point 238, and,thereby to collapse the legrest mounting linkage 262 below the seat 214as shown in FIG. 8.

The secondary actuating means according to the embodiment of FIGS. 8 and9 comprises a bell crank lever 292 which is pivotally mounted at 294 onthe bracket 296 which in turn is secured to the cross brace 226. Thebell crank lever 292 has a first arm 292a which is of a lengthsufficient for the end of the first arm 292a to contact an extension ofthe pivot pin 282 from below when the linkage 262 is in its collapsedconfiguration. The second arm 292b of the bell crank lever 292 extendsgenerally upwardly and rearwardly from its pivot point 294 and isprovided with a fixed pin 298 which is contacted by the bottom of theseat 214 as the seat is lowered at the end of its movement from thetilted position of FIG. 9 to the upright sitting position of FIG. 8. Thecontact of the pin 298 by the seat 214 is effective to drive the bellcrank lever 292 in a clockwise direction about its pivot 294 which iselfective to move the end of the first arm 292a upwardly. It will beappreciated that the upward movement of the arm 292a will effect acontact between that arm and the extension of the pivot pin 298 therebymoving the link 264 upwardly about its pivot 272 and, thereby, liftingthe various components of the linkage 262 to positively place thatlinkage in a completely collapsed position. A third arm 2920 is providedto limit the counterclockwise rotation of the bell crank lever 292. Asthe seat 214 moves upwardly and rearwardly during the first movementphase, the bottom of the seat rises off the pin 298 allowing the crankarm 292 to turn under the influence of the actuated leg-rest linkage. Asthe leg-rest linkage is actuated, the extension of pivot pin 282 movesdownwardly to drive the arm 292a downwardly until the pin 282 clears theforward end of the arm 292a. Thereafter, the engagement of the arm 2920with the bracket 296 on the underside of the cross rail 226 preventsfurther rotation of the crank 292.

It will be appreciated that the present invention provides secondaryactuation means for a reclining chair leg-rest mounting linkage whicheffectively provides a closing force for that linkage as the chair ismoved from its tilted to its upright sitting position. The provision ofsuch a secondary actuating force insures that the legrest mountinglinkage is completely collapsed thereby insuring a minimum spaceoccupancy by the linkage. The constructions according to the presentinvention thereby effectively compensate for the relatively smallvariations of the effective length of leg-rest linkage components ascompared to the theoretical lengths thereby preventing the relativelylarge variation in the position of the leg-rest which often results fromthe mechanical multiplication of these slight variations.

A latitude of modification, substitution and change is intended in theforegoing disclosure. A variety of differing mechanical arrangement maybe envisioned which may effectively incorporate the present invention inother embodiments than those specifically illustrated herein. Therefore,the claims should be interpreted broadly and in a manner consistent withthe spirit and scope of the invention.

What we claim is:

1. A reclining chair having a support, a body-supporting unit mounted onsaid support and movable between a reclining position and an uprightsitting position, a legrest, a lazy tong linkage mounting said leg-restfor movement from an extended leg-supporting position to an inactiveposition wherein said lazy tong linkage is collapsed beneath saidbody-supporting unit, actuating means for said leg-rest movementconnected to said lazy tong linkage and operable in response to movementof said bodysupporting unit from said upright sitting position to saidreclining position for moving said leg-rest to said extended position,and secondary actuating means for said leg-rest mounting linkageoperable at the end of the movement of said body-supporting unit fromsaid reclining to said upright sitting position for positively closingsaid lazy tong linkage to tightly tuck said leg-rest beneath saidbody-supporting unit, said secondary actuating means including a firstmember movable in response to the final movement of said body-supportingunit from a reclining position into the upright sitting position and asecond member positioned to be contacted by said first member at thecompletion of said motion of said body-supporting unit, said secondmember operable to positively force said linkage into a closelycollapsed configuration when contacted by said first member, saidsecondary actuating means being in an inactive disengaged positionbefore said final movement of said body-supporting unit into the uprightsitting position.

2. A reclining chair having a support, a body-supporting unit mounted onsaid support and movable between a reclining position and an uprightsitting position, a leg-rest, a lazy tong linkage mounting said leg-restfor movement from an extended leg-supporting position to an inactiveposition wherein said lazy tong linkage is collapsed beneath saidbody-supporting unit, actuating means for said leg-rest movementconnected to said lazy tong linkage and operable in response to movementof said body-supporting unit from said upright sitting position to saidreclining position for moving said leg-rest to said extended position,and secondary actuating means for said leg-rest mounting linkageoperable at the end of the movement of said body-supporting unit fromsaid reclining to said upright sitting position for positively closingsaid lazy tong linkage to tightly tuck said leg-rest beneath saidbody-supporting unit, said secondary actuating means including anengaging member movable in response to the final movement of saidbody-supporting unit from a reclining position into the upright sittingposition and a follower member positioned to be contacted by saidengaging member at the completion of said motion of said body-supportingunit, one of said members being on said lazy tong linkage and operableto positively force said linkage into a closely collapsed configurationwhen contacted by the other of said members, said secondary actuatingmeans being in an inactive disengaged position before said finalmovement of said body-supporting unit into the upright sitting position.

3. A reclining chair according to claim 1 in which said first member isan engagement surface integral with a link of said lazy tong linkage andsaid second member is a contact engageable with said engagement surfaceand fixed relative to said final motion of said body-supporting unitfrom a reclining position to said upright sitting position.

4. A reclining chair according to claim 1 in which said first member isa pin mounted on said body-supporting unit and said second member is anengagement surface on said lazy tong linkage engageable with said pin assaid body-supporting unit is moved into said upright sitting position.

5. A reclining chair according to claim 1 in which said first member isa lever pivotally mounted on said i support and rotatable about saidpivot in response to movement of said body-supporting unit with respectto said support into said upright position, and said second member is acontact on said lazy tong linkage engageable with said lever when saidlever is pivoted in response to said movement of said. body-supportingunit.

6. In a reclining chair having a seat, a leg-rest, a lazy tong linkagemounting said leg-rest for movement relative to said seat from a storedposition under said seat wherein said lazy tong linkage is collapsedbeneath said seat to an active position outwardly and forwardly f saidseat, and actuation means for said lazy tong linkage for moving saidleg-rest between its active position and its stored position, secondaryactuating means for insuring the complete collapse of said lazy tonglinkage when moved into the stored position of said leg-rest comprisingmeans on said lazy tong linkage other than said actuation means forreceiving a force at the end movement of said leg-rest from its extendedto its stored position and means operable as said leg-rest is movedduring a final movement to said stored position for imparting said forcefor completely collapsing said lazy tong linkage beneath said seat, saidsecondary actuating means being in an inactive disengaged positionbefore said final movement.

7. In a reclining chair having a body-supporting unit movable between areclining position and an upright sitting position, a leg-rest, a lazytong linkage mounting said leg-rest for movement from an extendedleg-supporting position to an inactive position wherein said lazy tonglinkage is collapsed beneath said body-supporting unit, and actuatingmeans for said leg-rest movement connected to said lazy tong linkage andoperable in response to movement of said body-supporting unit from saidupright sitting position to said reclining position for moving saidleg-rest to said extended position, the improve ment comprisingsecondary actuating means for said legrest mounting linkage operable atthe end of the movement of said body-supporting unit from said reclinedto said upright sitting position for positively closing said lazy tonglinkage to tightly tuck said leg-rest beneath said body-supporting unit,said secondary actuating means including a first member movable inresponse to the final movement of said body-supporting unit from areclining position into the upright sitting position and a second memberon said lazy tong linkage positioned to be contacted by said firstmember at the completion of said motion of said body-supporting unit,said second member being operable to positively force said linkage intoa closely collapsed configuration when contacted by said first member,said secondary actuating means being in an inactive disengaged positionbefore said final movement of said body-supporting unit into the uprightsitting position.

8. In a reclining chair including a support, body-sup porting meansincluding a seat and back-rest, means mounting said body-supportingmeans on said support for tilting movement between an upright sittingposition and a reclined position, a leg-rest, a leg-rest mountinglinkage including two quadric linkages mounting said leg-rest on saidchair for movement from a folded position beneath said seat to anextended leg-supporting position in front of said seat, and primaryleg-rest actuating means connected to one link of said leg-rest mountinglinkage for actuating said leg-rest mounting linkage in response totilting motion of said body-supporting means, the improvement comprisinga secondary actuation means connected to one link of said quadriclinkages and to said body-supporting means for turning said one link toa predetermined position when said body-supporting said leg-rest isfolded beneath said seat.

9. In a reclining chair including a support, body-supmounting saidbody-supporting means on said support for tilting movement between anupright sitting position and a reclined position, a leg-rest, a leg-restmounting linkage including two quadric linkages mounting said leg reston said chair for movement from a folded position beneath said seat toan extended leg-supporting position in front of said seat, and primaryleg-rest actuation means connected to one link of said quadric linkagesof said leg-rest mounting linkage for actuating said leg-rest mountinglinkage in response to tilting motion of said body-supporting means, theimprovement comprising a secondary actuation means connected to anotherlink of said quadric linkages and to said body-supporting unit forturning said other link to a predetermined position when saidbody-supporting unit is moved to said upright sit ing position and whensaid leg rest is folded beneath said seat for insuring the accuratemovement of said legrest into its folded position.

16. In a reclining chair including a support, bodysupporting meansincluding a seat and back-rest, means mounting said body-supportingmeans on said support for tilting movement between an upright sittingposition and a reclined position, a leg-rest, a lazy tong leg-restmounting linkage mounting said leg-rest on said chair for movement froma folded and substantially horizontal position beneath said seat to anextended leg-supporting position in front of said seat, and primaryleg-rest actuation means connected to one link of said lazy tongleg-rest mounting linkage for actuating same in response to tilt ingmotion of said body-supporting means, the improvement comprising asecondary actuation means connected to one link of said leg-restmounting linkage and to said body-supporting unit for turning said onelink to a predetermined position when said body-supporting unit is movedto said upright sitting position and when said legrest is folded beneathsaid seat for insuring the accurate movement of said leg-rest into itsfolded and substantially horizontal position.

11. In a reclining chair including a support, bodysupporting meansincluding a seat and back-rest, means mounting said body-supportingmeans on said support for tilting movement between an upright sittingposition and a reclined position, a leg-rest, a lazy tong leg-restmounting linkage including two quadric linkages mounting said leg-reston said chair for movement from a folded and substantially horizontalposition beneath said seat to an extended leg-supporting position infront of said seat, and primary leg-rest actuation means connected toone link of said lazy tong leg-rest mounting linkage for actuating samein response to tilting motion of said body-supporting means, theimprovement comprising a secondary actuation means connected to anotherlink of said lazy tong linkage and to said body-supporting unit forturning said other link to a predetermined position when saidbody-supporting unit is moved to said upright sitting position and whensaid leg-rest is folded beneath said seat for insuring the movement ofsaid leg-rest into its folded and substantially horizontal position.

References Cited in the file of this patent V UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. A RECLINING CHAIR HAVING A SUPPORT, A BODY-SUPPORTING UNIT MOUNTED ONSAID SUPPORT AND MOVABLE BETWEEN A RECLINING POSITION AND AN UPRIGHTSITTING POSITION, A LEGREST, A LAZY TONG LINKAGE MOUNTING SAID LEG-RESTFOR MOVEMENT FROM AN EXTENDED LEG-SUPPORTING POSITION TO AN INACTIVEPOSITION WHEREIN SAID LAZY TONG LINKAGE IS COLLAPSED BENEATH SAIDBODY-SUPPORTING UNIT, ACTUATING MEANS FOR SAID LEG-REST MOVEMENTCONNECTED TO SAID LAZY TONG LINKAGE AND OPERABLE IN RESPONSE TO MOVEMENTOF SAID BODYSUPPORTING UNIT FROM SAID UPRIGHT SITTING POSITION TO SAIDRECLINING POSITION FOR MOVING SAID LEG-REST TO SAID EXTENDED POSITION,AND SECONDARY ACTUATING MEANS FOR SAID LEG-REST MOUNTING LINKAGEOPERABLE AT THE END OF THE MOVEMENT OF SAID BODY-SUPPORTING UNIT FROMSAID RECLINING TO SAID UPRIGHT SITTING POSITION FOR POSITIVELY CLOSINGSAID LAZY TONG LINKAGE TO TIGHTLY TUCK SAID LEG-REST BENEATH SAIDBODY-SUPPORTING UNIT, SAID SECONDARY ACTUATING MEANS INCLUDING A FIRSTMEMBER MOVABLE IN RESPONSE TO THE FINAL MOVEMENT OF SAID BODY-SUPPORTINGUNIT FROM A RECLINING POSITION INTO THE UPRIGHT SITTING POSITION AND ASECOND MEMBER POSITIONED TO BE CONTACTED BY SAID FIRST MEMBER AT THECOMPLETION OF SAID MOTION OF SAID BODY-SUPPORTING UNIT, SAID SECONDMEMBER OPERABLE TO POSITIVELY FORCE SAID LINKAGE INTO A CLOSELYCOLLAPSED CONFIGURATION WHEN CONTACTED BY SAID FIRST MEMBER, SAIDSECONDARY ACTUATING MEANS BEING IN AN INACTIVE DISENGAGED POSITIONBEFORE SAID FINAL MOVEMENT OF SAID BODY-SUPPORTING UNIT INTO THE UPRIGHTSITTING POSITION.